More Inspiration

Journaling—or “telling the story”—is a very important
part of scrapbooking. I consider my album to be a storybook about my family,
so I want to make sure I include lots of details for the important events and
occasions. One way for me to all the details written down, the spelling correct
and the spacing right is to use my computer to type my story, then print it
on an 81/2”x11” piece of paper and add it to my page.

About This Page: LeNae started with a pink butterfly background
paper for Emma’s page. Emma’s photo is matted on ivory, trimmed
with patterned scissors, them matted again on pink gingham paper, then on solid
pink. Why so many mats? “Because this photo is so special, I wanted it
to be presented in a special way,” LeNae says. “Also, the journaling
block is very large, so the photo needed additional ‘weight’ to
balance the page.”

Paper Picking Tip: The viewer knows the baby is a little girl
just by looking at the soft pink background paper. LeNae chose yellow accent
papers to match the color in Emma’s clothing, which is the only color
in the photo. Solid paper mats on the photo, the journaling and the striped
paper strip ensure these elements don’t compete with the patterned background
paper.

LeNae’s Tip of the Month: Journaling

Journaling simply refers to the writing on your page. The basic information
would be names, dates, places, and maybe the stories that explain the event
or the photo.

“Children love to hear the story of their birth—and recording the
details in a scrapbook is a perfect way to tell that story,” says LeNae.
“Don’t feel like you have to get the whole story on one page. My
own daughter’s birth story is six pages long, and talks about our experience
throughout my pregnancy up to her birth. With this type of story, I computer
journaled, then slipped the pages into 81/2”x11” sheet protectors
and put them inside Lauren’s 12”x12” 3-ring binder.”

LeNae’s Steps to Make This Layout

Mat the photo: Mat your photo one yellow solid paper. I
trimmed it with scallop-edge scissors to match the eyelet trim on the baby
blanket. Mat again on pink gingham paper, leaving a 1/4”-wide edge.
Mat again on pink solid paper, leaving a 1/16” edge.

Write your journaling block: Type your journaling on the
computer. LeNae used a 16-point font, which is a bit larger than regular type.
“When journaling a story, I usually use anywhere from a 14-16 point
font,” LeNae says. “This makes the font easier to read, especially
when I’ve written a lot.” Experiment with different fonts to see
which ones you like best; here, LeNae used a playful font called Andy Regular
to match the theme of the page.

Mat your journaling: Print your journaling onto white paper
and trim it down. Mat on solid pink paper, then solid yellow paper. Tie a
6” piece of pink satin ribbon into a bow, trim the ends, then attach
it to the journaling with a Glue Dot™. Glue Dots™ come on a roll;
to use, simply expose one of the dots on the roll and press the knotted part
of the bow onto the sticky dot. Lift the bow and the dot off the roll and
place on the paper. Warning: Glue Dots™ are very sticky—avoid
touching them with your hands!

Create the striped strip: Cut a 1 1/2”-wide strip
of yellow striped paper. A great way to save paper when matting things like
the striped paper strip is to use two narrow strips instead of one wide piece.
I cut two1/2”-wide strips and glued them to each side of the striped
paper.

Glue your elements down: Arrange all your elements on the
background paper, attaching them with glue.